September 29, 2008
Once a country boy – always a country boy? At least it seems so for Kyle McKenzie of Zumbro Falls. Currently attending medical school in Duluth, he hopes to one day return to his rural roots, where he finds comfort in small-town living.
A graduate of now Plainview-Elgin-Millville High School, Kyle was always drawn to the sciences. Unsure of his exact career path, he enrolled at the University of Minnesota and declared a major in genetics. It wasn’t until he started volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House that his path became crystal clear.
“Spending time with sick children and their families opened up my eyes to the world of medicine,” recalls Kyle. “If I became a doctor, I could make a difference in the lives of kids like these.” With his destination in sight, Kyle’s next step was to choose a route that combined his goal of earning a medical degree with a desire to practice family medicine in a rural area.
Kyle’s acceptance into the Duluth Family Practice Residency Program was the answer. “I applied to nine different schools in the Midwest and the Duluth program was my first choice. It offered the rural emphasis that I was looking for.”
According to Kyle, the strengths of the program are its small class sizes and focused attention on rural health practices. To get a real feel for the realities of community-based medicine, he elected to serve a three-week summer internship at Saint Elizabeth’s Medical Center and Wabasha Clinic-Part of Lake City Medical Center – Mayo Health System. The experience offered a rich opportunity to shadow various members of the healthcare team and rotate through many clinical
departments. From the bedside of a laboring mom to the wheelchair of an ailing nursing home resident, Kyle followed the footsteps of physicians, surgeons, nurses, therapists, pharmacists, technologists, and social workers.
“I have a new perspective and appreciation for rural medicine,” he explains. “By experiencing the entire continuum of care, I was able to see the big picture of how programs and professionals work together to improve health. Each encounter was another piece of the puzzle that helped me grasp the needs of the people and the challenges for providers.”
During his short-term stint, he gained valuable insights that will give him a jump start as he begins his second year of medical school. He learned that family medicine is a complex specialty. Primary care providers see a broad spectrum of patients with diverse healthcare conditions. Their skill set is vast and their contributions, enormous. Their days are filled with appointments, emergencies, meetings, consults, and more. No day is the same but everyday is filled with a deep sense of responsibility and a great feeling of reward.
“They wear many hats and must respond quickly in all kinds of circumstances,” Kyle comments. “This experience heightened my confidence level and confirmed my interest in primary care. I enjoyed my time in Wabasha. Everyone was so welcoming and inviting. I was given unique opportunities to witness healthcare in action.”
“It is to our advantage – and theirs – that we open our doors to the fascinating world of rural healthcare,” adds Jim Root, VP of Human Resources. “Many small communities are experiencing physician shortages. Medical students are given many choices to consider. They have unlimited options of what they want to practice and where. By exposing them to rural medicine, we are giving them tools and experiences they can draw from to make informed decisions about their careers. Hopefully, we made a lasting and favorable impression on Kyle!”